Need help identifying projectiles.

[Scott_B]

Hello, first time posting, long time viewer. Excellent site!

This weekend there is an auction advertising civil war cannonballs. I am just starting to learn about muskets, pistols and edged weapons of the civil war era. I know nothing about cannonballs. I don't see them in many auctions, but I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to buy one. I'm going to read through the previous posts to educate myself.

I'm attaching a picture of the cannonballs. If anyone can recognize any of these by sight I would love your input.

Thanks Scott

 

[Cumpston1862]

This is a helpful website.

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/

On first glance they all appear to be solid shots. Look over the link above it will give you a lot of information on what you may have a chance to buy. Cannonballs were made to precise weights and measurements.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Welcome to CivilWarTalk.

 

[redbob]

From the picture, they appear to be 12#,32#,42# solid shot, the one in the lower right looks like a 10# Parrot Shell, the silver one was probably in a GAR Hall (they liked to paint things for some reason) and I don't recognize the big round. One word of advice if they are shells (fused and explosive) and they have not been deactivated, steer clear of them unless you have someone that can deactivate them. Also, welcome aboard.

 

[Frederick14Va]

Just a bit of caution... not everything out there that's a metal ball is a cannon ball.... we frequently see shot-puts, ball bearings, counter weights, ballast weights... being pandered off as civil war cannon balls..... Size and composition will give one a better clue.... The diameter of the ball can give you a better clue of what size/caliber it might be.... cannon balls were made of iron... not steel.... if you can tell the difference on sight it will greatly help.... The elongated projectile appears similar to a Mullane bolt, but difficult to tell without further examination... also could be a post war round... many of the WW-I era ammunition had bolted on rifling sabots... In this photo it appears the bolt is still there but the copper/brass sabot is missing...

 

[chellers]

Hi Scott, welcome from East Texas.

 

[mikekj]

Perhaps a coin or a ruler to give some scale would help.

 

[Scott_B]

Thank you for the warm welcome and the advice given.

I've been giving myself a crash course on civil war artillery projectiles and cannons. It seems the determining factors are projectile diameter in relation to the weight (for round solid shot). And stay clear of potentially live rounds.

Ok here is what I have so far (potentially). And I agree, there is nothing in the picture to give any kind of scale.

1. 32# solid shot. Diameter should be approx. 6.25". Costal and fort defense?
2. 42# solid shot. Diameter approx. 6.84". Costal and fort defense?
3. 12# solid shot. Diameter approx. 4.52". Napoleon smoothbore?
4. 32# solid shot. Same as 1.
5. Elongated projectile. Has bolt but missing sabot attachment. Similar to Mullane design or possibly post war. I have not found anything similar to this. Rifled cannon muzzle loading?
6. 10# Parrot shell or would number 5 possibly be the Parrot shell.

Was round shot used in smoothbore cannons and the elongated projectiles used in rifled cannons?
If the size and weight checks out do you think $20-$40 / ball would be a deal? I've looked on ebay, gunbroker and similar sites and the prices range all over the place.

Sorry if post is long and boring, but I didn't think there was so many variations in projectiles.
Thanks again Scott

 

[redbob]

These projectiles just scratch the surface of Civil War projectiles, there may well be 500 different rounds and variations of ordinance from the Civil War out there. The round solid ones are designed to be fired from a smoothbore cannon (which ranged from 2"bores to 20" bores) they are designed for impacting and crushing. There are also explosive round shot (or balls) which are designed to explode and scatter fragments or fragments and shot. The elongated rounds are for a rifled gun (1.43"-10"bore diameters) and they too may be explosive or solid (bolts). Toss in there canister, mortar rounds and whether they were used by the Army, Navy and which side and you have really opened a can of worms. Good luck with your collecting and remember rules 1&2 or artillery round collecting: #1 Don't fool around with anything live and #2 Don't drop them on your feet.
Oh yes, the 10# Parrott may the slick looking round to the right of #6 and if you can get them for that price, they will be a great deal.
Never hesitate to ask a question, the only bad question is one that is not asked.

 

[James N.]

You would probably do best buying from a known and reputable dealer of battlefield relics like Larry Hicklen, who has his own website with lots of pictured merchandise. As for the projectiles you pictured, I'm pretty sure the elongated shell is NOT from a 10-pounder Parrott.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[cclinch]

Hello, first time posting, long time viewer. Excellent site!

This weekend there is an auction advertising civil war cannonballs. I am just starting to learn about muskets, pistols and edged weapons of the civil war era. I know nothing about cannonballs. I don't see them in many auctions, but I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to buy one. I'm going to read through the previous posts to educate myself.

I'm attaching a picture of the cannonballs. If anyone can recognize any of these by sight I would love your input.

Thanks Scott

Ok maybe I can help you out, I seen a lot of these over the years, first of all you need to measure the diameters and the weights, since many of the cannons were named either by diameter or weight of the projectile. Remember this, just because it is round does not always mean it is solid shot either, sometimes people try to get rid of them knowing that they are actually shells. I have x-rayed several so called solid shot that people had in their homes, that were far from it. Look for a fuse on them. I wish you had a picture of the fuse from the one on the lower left, that would tell a lot, that shell on the bottom left might be naval,which I am not too familar with because most of the ones I have dealt with have the fuse in the nipple or nose, being a Borman or Hotchkiss fuse. If you could get the weights I could help you out more and tell you what it came from. If it was me, without seeing it in person I would stay away from the shell on the lower left. Also what is with the yellow on that one cannon ball? If you see the cannonballs see if there are any fuses on them, if there are they are shells, and you need to make sure that they have been deactivated. People do not realize that black powder becomes MORE sensitive with age, and even with water (after it dries) simple friction can set them off. Anyway if you get the weights or measurments I can try to help you out more.

 

[cclinch]

Thank you for the warm welcome and the advice given.

I've been giving myself a crash course on civil war artillery projectiles and cannons. It seems the determining factors are projectile diameter in relation to the weight (for round solid shot). And stay clear of potentially live rounds.

ok here is some more info, #1, if the weight is around 25 lbs it could be from a 32 lb howitzer, 41 to 44 model, # 2 a 42 might be seacoast artillery, should weigh 42 to 43 lbs, from a 42-pndr smooth bore, 7". #3 I would agree a 12 pndr smmoth bore Napoleon, 1857 model, 4.6 cal, 12 to 13lbs, #4 same as 1, #5 I would lean either Naval again I am not too familiar with, or post war. I would say 5 could be a parrot shell since it is from a rifled gun. they shot a 10 or 20 pndr. but again the ones I have seen had the fuses in the front. There a lot of 3 " parrot shells out there, does it have a ring attached to the bottom? again if I could see the fuse from behind Icould tell you better what it could be, if it is a Hotchkiss fuse or not.
the round was used in Smoothbore, the other a rifled gun.